


Red Daughter (The unsung hero of Kasnia)

by GreyWolves



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Canon Rewrite, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Endgame Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, F/F, Fix-It, Lena Luthor Doesn't Know Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Psychological Drama, Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-09 01:41:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18906922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyWolves/pseuds/GreyWolves
Summary: Red Daughter deserved a story from her perspective. Not completely canon. Just close enough. Spoiler warning for the last half of season 4. Let me know if you hate the title.OrThe end of season 4 with Supercorp, Redcorp, the Kasnian people, some family feels and Red Daughter getting a better ending. Supercorp endgame. But also Redcorp endgame.





	1. The death of Snowbird

 

Kasnia was a cold place, a wide woodland with patches of snow decorating its wild landscape. The villagers were poor and wrapped in scratchy attire, constantly pulling their thin scarfs tightly around there necks. The stalls of food were old and rickety, manned by staving people, desperate for their wages. 

  
The soldiers were brutal but honest, fueled by their anger, at the Americans and their Hollywood, and their fancy chefs, and fancy clothes, and comfortable beds. They pushed around the populace and protected them at the same time. Kasnia had a mandatory military program, a type of conscription, that meant every male citizen had to do a minimum of four years of service before the age of thirty. The hatred was trained into them, beaten into them, it made them strong, hard, fierce, it made them warriors. 

  
In a dirt field, on the edge of the market, some kids kicked around a dirty soccer ball. A blonde haired woman with a wide smile, and a grey and red uniform ran around with the group, pretending to be bad at the game and laughing at herself with them. 

  
Close to dusk, a loud whistling noise pieced through the ambients and Snowbird grimaced at the familiar call. The general was summoning her back to camp, using a device that emitted a high-frequency sound that only Snowbird could hear, similar to a dog whistle. She waved goodbye to the children, who begged her to stay for just a little bit longer, and took off into the sky. 

  
The base was metal and brick, void of colour. The guards patrolling never smiled at Snowbird. The only person who would look her with affection was Alex, and he seldom visited, though he sent her books. She loved The Great Gatsby, it sparked her imagination, told her about a fantastical world of music, colour and grandeur. It was meant to be a learning tool, from Alex, to educate her about the American's selfish lifestyles, their disregard and greedy natures, but Snowbird kept it close like a child with a teddy bear. 

  
Snowbird obediently entered her room, the door locked behind her, and the sharp metal sound of the lock hurt her ears. She knelt by the pile of books in the corner and pushed a few aside, philosophy, Shakespeare, poetry, dark fiction, biography's -- her favourite was romance. There was not a lot about love, family, friendship, what she uncovered twinged something painful inside her chest, something she hadn't found the words her to describe.

  
The story of Gatsby was tragic, a missed loved, a series of unsatisfied grand gestures. The copy that Snowbird had was beneath her pillow, it had been read the most, Snowbird cherished the novel, keeping it close for comfort. The pages held secrets, scribbled between lines and on edges, her sporadic thoughts and feelings, confessions and wishes on stars. She used to write about Alex, but slowly the idea of him she had in her head faded and transformed into something else, like a mentor or a father figure, the term "family" did not quite mesh with the words he said and the words she had read over and over again in her books. 

  
When Alex spoke of his sister, an unfamiliar feeling threaten to consume her spirit, she felt it when she read about Daisy, the untouchable love, the unrequited, the missed, the unreachable, the unobtainable. Photos, images of the Americans were pinned to walls of Snowbird's tiny room, faces she was supposed to observe and learn, expression to mimic for when the time came. 

  
"Lena." Snowbird practised the name, replayed it in her mind, spoke it with different accents, the sound was somehow imprinted within herself long before she had even known Lena Luthor existed. She traced her fingers over the images, unexplainable angry when looked at Kara Danvers, smiling, with her arm around Lex's sister. 

  
She'd met Lena, briefly, when she was Imitating her counterpart in America. The L-Corp CEO appeared discipline and compassionate, powerful and kind, beautiful in a way she had only read about but never personally witnessed. 

  
Kara Danvers' journal had revealed many things, such as Kara's deep, seemingly unrequited, feelings for Lena Luthor. Kara spoke of her alien biology and her fears of hurting any human she loved too hard, she talked about their friendship and how she couldn't risk anything more beyond that, afraid that she would lose her best friend ultimately, she talked about being too scared to tell Lena about Supergirl, afraid of losing the one person who made her feel as vulnerable as any human. 

  
There was an article within Kara's diary that she'd had the urge to steal, it was written by her counterpart and was about Lena Luthor and her company. It spoke of her charity and innovation, Lena had the potential to change the world and Snowbird hoped that the younger Luthor would join the Kasnian people, hoped that she could see the beauty of the Kasnian land as Snowbird saw it. It was a fantasy, a dream, to stand strong for her people with Alex and Lena at her sides, she shook away the vision as sleep pulled her under. 

  
The morning came slowly, it was cold and dark as the new day began. The boots stomping outside Snowbird's door woke her from a restless sleep, the blanket wasn't warm enough and the room seemed to hold the cold air inside, never circulating or warming. The room remained stagnant and devoid of anything homely. Snowbird ran her hand over her face, trying to push away her half-asleep imaginings, she was a soldier, she didn't need friends or family, she had Alex and Kasnia and that was everything. 

  
The days passed, and Snowbird trained, she played with the kids, explored the wild lands, read about people doing things she could never dream up. Snowbird was content, happy even, ever since she had introduced Lex to Mikhail, feeling a warmth in her chest as the pair interacted -- like everything was coming together, she may not have the type of family written in books but she had one, sitting around a broken table, laughing about simple things. Life in Kasnia may not be glamorous, it never needed to be, Kasnia was magical and peaceful all on its own. 

  
The extra time in between training sessions gave Snowbirds mind the chance to wonder, she thought about things, imagined other things, mainly what her counterpart was doing in America. While Kasnia carried on, Snowbird slipped away, her curiosity taking over once again. 

  
National city was loud, Snowbird cringed as she entered the busy, messy place. Kara Danvers' apartment was empty when she flew near enough to look in through the window. She didn't want to visit that place again, it made her irrationally angry and she could fathom why an American apartment would evoke such a feeling. 

  
She found herself hovering above the L-Corp building, watching Lena Luthor bite her lip and type furiously at her computer. Without much thought, driven purely by instinct, Snowbird floated down onto the CEO's balcony. Lena's heartbeat was loud in her head, pushing violently against her own pulse. Snowbird pressed her hand to her chest, trying to slow the powerful beats, it was dizzying, distracting, overwhelming. 

  
"Supergirl!" 

  
Snowbird felt a warm hand against her own and flinched back, stumbling. 

  
"Are you alright?" Lena had moved without a sound, she stood before the Kasnian, watching her closely. 

  
"I'm fine," Snowbird croaked, it wasn't strong, it wasn't even a proper American accent, it was fragile and broken. 

  
"You don't look fine. Why don't you come inside," Lena pushed open the door and tried to reach for the fracture Kryptonian. 

  
"I shouldn't." 

  
"Why not?" Lena tilted her head slightly to one side.

  
Snowbird knew nothing at that moment, only that her feet would step wherever Lena Luthor wanted them to travel. She staggered over to the couch and sat, trembling and unsure. 

  
Lena sat beside her, calm and so undeniably beautiful. "Did something happen?" 

  
"You hate me..." Snowbird recalled the fallout Lena and Supergirl had over the creation of Kryptonite, how Supergirl had sent Guardian to infiltrate Lena's private laboratory. 

  
"I don't hate you. I don't trust you. There's a difference." Lena's voice was steady, soft, soothing. 

  
"I understand." 

  
"I like the new uniform. It looks warmer." 

  
Snowbird looked down at herself and remembered that she was not in disguise and that she should not be in Lena Luthor's office. Alex was going to be so mad. "I should go." 

  
Lena nodded. "Maybe you could stay for a bit. I have some work to do and I would like the company. Just for a bit." 

  
"Just for a bit..." 

  
"Yes. Please." 

  
Snowbird realised in that instant that she could not deny Lena anything. The CEO stood and returned to her desk, glancing over to the alien on her couch every so often with a small smile. Snowbird just sat and waited, and watched Lena in return as she slipped on a pair of glasses, sipped her warm coffee, stretched her arms above her head and rubbed the back of her neck. 

  
The night moved slowly into dawn and the Kasnian listened to city folk stir, the traffic grew more intense and the buildings awakened. It wasn't until she heard Eve enter the floor from the elevator that the Kasnian snapped out of her daydreaming. 

  
"I have to go!" Snowbird stood and made for the balcony. The last thing she saw before she jumped into the air was Lena rushing to her feet, almost as if she wanted to stop Snowbird from leaving. 


	2. The Death of Snowbird   Part II

The Kaznian market strip was a flurry in the late afternoon, children rushed about, catching the last of the sun while the women and men bartered for there dinners. A military jeep, the old rusted kind, sped down the main dirt road, forcing the crowds to disperse in a panic. The soldiers aboard screamed at the scrambling pedestrians, angry that they couldn't move out of the way faster. One woman, frail in her old age, tripped over nothing, dropping her bag of overly ripe fruit onto the ground. Torn between forcing herself to her feet and reaching for the food she desperately wanted, she didn't move out of the way fast enough.

 

The soldier driving pushed down harder on the accelerator, intent on not letting the human speedbump slow his vehicle down. There was a shout, and then the sound of the engine zooming passed. The old woman stood shocked, confused and holding her bag of fruit, safely away from the military convoy.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

The woman spun around to see her saviour smiling down at her gently. The older Kasnian rushed out a few gratitudes in her own tongue and insisted that the hero take some fruit for her next meal.

 

"No, I couldn't. Please. Keep them."

 

The woman insisted, pinching the blushing blonde's cheek and forcing fruit into her arms.

 

Snowbird laughed and thanked the woman, earning another pinch and a pat on the arm.

 

The people of Kaznia had never feared her presence, she was a strange woman in strange clothes who spoke their language and helped them when the soldier would kick them.

 

Not all of the soldiers were bad, but Snowbird was exceptional, she played soccer with children and built them a school, she raced people to doctors and dove into frozen lakes for lost things, she found lost pets and used her heat vision to start fires when her people were freezing. It wasn't glamorous or even exhausting, it was just how she helped.

 

 

 

 

Snowbird sat in a tree, resting on a thick branch, obtaining a delicate view of the sun disappearing behind the treetops. The sunlight flickered in orange, purple and blue, before dimming away. A sweet juice ran around her smile and down her chin as she feasted sloppily on the yellowish mango, it left her fingers sticky, but she was happy. It had been a good day. Even though she still missed Alex, regretting the things she had said to him.

 

The American's had attacked, and she wasn't around to save her people, she had been distracted, and it had cost her everything. Mikhail was gone, murdered, and she had let her feelings dictate her actions, she sought revenge for his death and almost ruined all of Alex's plans, she had disappointed him, genuinely and it broke Snowbird even further.

 

She'd accused Alex of being controlled by his emotions, whether she was projecting or not, she couldn't know for sure, all she knew was that she had dropped Lena's name in the heat of their fight and it had ruined everything between them.

 

The General called her back, using the sharp whistle that always made Snowbird flinch, and so, she hopped down from the tree, landing too hard, making the ground shake a little.

 

Before she zipped all the way back to the military base, Snowbird levitated above the blackened crater that was now Mikhail's grave. The anguish that she had felt the day that he'd died was unlike anything she had ever felt, the pain itself lingered, in her limbs, in her chest, gnawing away savagely at her innards.

 

Everything ached, the weight of it manifest and she dropped to the ground beside the destroyed soccer ball, she watched it, waited for it to no longer be broken and when it refused she angrily snatched it up from the ground.

 

Snowbird held onto the punctured, charred soccer ball, closing her fist around its torn skin. Since the attack, her people had been afraid of monsters across the ocean and the Kasnian soldiers who patrolled with itchy fingers.

 

Alex had left Kasnia, and Snowbird stood in the wreckage, angrier than she had ever been before, alone and full of self-loathing. Alex had taught her, saved her from Kryptonite and she had failed. It was time to prepare, to train, it was not the time for distractions. Mikhail deserved better. Kasnia deserved better.

 

She tried to imagine what it would be like to lose Alex forever and a sick feeling crept along her gut. The ash got swept up in a breeze forcing its scent onto the visitor. Snowbird cough and cringed and flew away in a desperate hurry, eager to be locked away safely in her room.

 

 

 

 

That night brought twisted nightmares of Mikhail's face, his sweet smile, melted away by the volatile American weapons. Alex, vaporised by a missile, as he sat at his desk, scribbling notes. Lena, typing and relaxing, then being dragged away by faceless terrorist as she cried out for Supergirl's help, cries that went unanswered.

 

Snowbird gasped and screamed, throwing herself out of her bunk and onto the cold ground. She had been angry before because people told her to be angry -- but she had never hated, never so purely. She hated the Americans. She hated everything Supergirl stood for, all of the lies, Mikhail's murder, the typical American way of life. The pictures of Kara Danvers' picture-perfect life mocked her from their places above her bed. Supergirl defended the people who had murdered Mikhail, she protected them.

 

 

 

 

Snowbird didn't notice at first, that she was getting weaker, the first nose bleed never worried her although it did worriy the General, he watched her with narrowed, cold eyes and frowned. He would call Alex -- she knew that he would, and so she waited, she was ordered to halt her training and to rest. Alex would come soon, and he would make everything okay again.

 

Except, she wasn't sure that Alex would return. There had been no new books, no letters, no new orders, and Snowbird felt the absence deeply. The General made her rest and had the doctors run test after test. The sun wasn't helping as much as it used to, it didn't give her the strength and energy it did when she stepped out of the bunker months ago.

 

It took a lot of her reserves to push up into the sky, she told herself that she wanted to find Alex, even as she crashed into Lena Luthor's office.

 

 

 

  
The lab below L-Corp smelt of chemicals, it was cold and bright, the light reflected off the clean white surfaces. Lena had a laptop that she typed on, a machine that analysed things and safety glasses on top of her reading glasses.

 

"Do you feel any tingling?"

 

"No."

 

"Is your vision blurry?"

 

"No."

 

"Do you feel nauseous?"

 

"No."

 

Snowbird had awoken on a gurney beneath a giant sun-lamp, and since then Lena Luthor had been the motivated scientist, determined to diagnose the problem that made the Kryptonian crash land into her office.

 

As the warm radiation seeped into her veins and energise her muscles, Snowbird watched the dark-haired woman she obsessed over, obsess over her instead. Lena Luthor fussed about her temperature and her EKG readings, her hands turned her head and checked if her skin was clammy, her eyes frantically scanned Snowbirds body for signs of anything.

 

It was a selfish pleasure, the Kasnian enjoyed the attention, the worry covering the other woman's face. She enjoyed having Lena entirely to herself, if only for a moment.

 

Lena flashed a small torch into her eyes. "How are you feeling? Headache?"

 

"No." Snowbird reached up and let her fingers slip into the soft dark locks that had been hurriedly pulled back into a messy bun. Lena's eyes locked onto her own. "Glass. There was glass," she mumbled, letting her hand drop away again.

 

"Well, you did destroy my window. It was supposed to be shatterproof. Three inches thick."

 

"Sorry."

 

"Ripped up my carpet too."

 

Snowbird grinned. "Sorry."

 

"I don't know how I'll explain it to Eve."

 

The Kasnian looked down at her own hands, suddenly very, honestly guilty. "Sorry."

 

"Hey, it's okay. I am a billionaire."

 

"I have betrayed you. I fail everyone."

 

"You're not Supergirl. I know."

 

"But... How? I don't. I'm sorry." Snowbird shook her head, angry with herself for thinking she could deceive Alex's sister.

 

"It's okay," the CEO assured.

 

"I need to go!" Snowbird stood up, but hands quickly pushed on her shoulders.

 

"Relax. I won't hurt you."

 

Snowbird scoffed at the absurdity. "Aren't you afraid I'll hurt you?"

 

"No."

 

"Why?"

 

"You kept me company." Lena shrugged, nonchalant about the whole situation -- as if she were often visited by Supergirl copies in the middle of the day.

 

"What?"

 

"Besides, you're very weak right now. I think I could take you." Lena smirked and winked.

 

"What? I... Um... I don't understand."

 

"Rest. I have a few more test."

 

Snowbird would have argued, but Lena looked at her in that way she looked at Kara in those pictures, and Snowbird was stuck, frozen in her place on the gurney. Lena order food, piles of food, bags of greasy, unhealthy food and each new flavour was a revelation. Lena watches with a fondness as the weak alien in her lab consumed mountains of noodles and pizza.

 

They talked, sparingly. Mainly Snowbird avoided questions, avoided eye contact, avoided breathing too loudly. Lena noticed and she was clearly cautious in the way she approached the creature in her lab, she circled around but never stood too close. Snowbird could feel her everywhere in the room, she didn't need to look at her, no matter how much she wanted to.

 

Eventually, Lena could no longer hold her beneath L-Corp, though she did ask her to return soon, once all of the results were back. They walked slowly back up to the shattered balcony, and Snowbird took off into the sky after begrudgingly promising to visit again soon -- the whole experience left the Kasnian feeling uneasy, and for the first time, she was thankful that Alex wasn't around to learn about her city visits.

 

 

 

 

  
The General had cleared her for training again. Snowbird didn't tell him how lethargic she had felt the last few days, like always, she kept her weaknesses close to her chest. A full night under a sunlamp with light conversation from Lena Luthor helped her energy levels somewhat, but Snowbird wouldn't tell the General that either.

 

She was stronger, and that was all the General cared about, she did attack drills, and soldiers threw grenades at her to test her resilience. The first ten didn't hurt, but the last five gave her a headache. The ringing in her ears made her dizzy, and she messed up her evasive flying technique. Scientist scribbled things down in their notebooks and asked her to repeat specific actions.

 

By the end of the day, she was exhausted. She had never felt so tired, and when she retired to her room, she fell asleep instantly and dreamt of nothing.

 

 


End file.
